Nineteenth-Century Art

I'm not an artist, I'm a historian, with a special interest in physical social and cultural history: Costume, domestic architecture, social mores, all that stuff. Photography is the obvious source for that, at least from the Civil War on, but an artist's interpretation can also be very useful. For those reasons, I learned early in my career to pay attention to the Realists, especially Bingham, Breton, Millet, Tissot, Eakins, Degas, Whistler, Winslow Homer, John Singer Sargent, and some of Monet and Manet. While studying that lot, I also developed a taste for the Pre-Raphaelites and the later artists of myth and dream, like Burne-Jones, Leighton, and Alma-Tadema, who don't get much attention these days. I lose interest when I get to the Post-Impressionists like Seurat, Van Gogh, Gauguin, and Munch, however. (So sue me.) All of which is to say that the authors, both of whom are NYU professors in the fine arts, have done an excellent job of surveying the entire century in which all of the above had their careers. The discussions cover not only artistic influences but political and familial factors as well as relevant biographical details. There are more than 500 illustrations, though fewer than 90 are in color, and many of them are rather small -- which seems inadequate for a coffee-table-sized art book. And, frankly, I'm puzzled how any survey of the 19th century could completely ignore Frederick Remington and Charles Russell. Otherwise, it's an excellent book for slow perusal.

Note: Your "helpful" votes are appreciated. Nineteenth-century art has a wonderful depth to it, and this book has almost a hundred full-color pictures and some 400 in black and white. The quality of the book is fantastic. This is a must for anyone interested the 19th century painting. I love pictures that tell a story. Look at the mystery and story on the cover of this book. It's full of other wonderful paintings ane well-worth the price. If you like black-and-white engravings from the 19th century, get "A Celebration of Humanism and Freethought," by David Allen Williams. This book is full of rare 19th century engravings that match its quotations from the Humanist perspective--a beautiful art book that has been overlooked because of it's title. Click here to see the images: A Celebration of Humanism and Freethought

Price and service were excellent! The book arrived within 2-3 days; thank you.

Whether you're familiar with Dr. Janson's previous work or not, you'll immedately recognize the quality and value of this book. The information is very well organized, divided into four sections based on time periods. Each of those sections is divided by the type of art (paintings or sculptures). With more than 500 illustrations (89 in full color), the book is not only an excellent source of reference, but also just plain interesting reading. Many of the stories are fascinating, encouraging the reader to dig even deeper. The details are impressive, particularly with accurate journalism being a relatively recent concept. Obviously, the information could only have come from extremely knowledgeable sources. Excellent book for art lovers on any level!